Guide to the Anchorage Garden Club records
1953-2018
Collection number: HMC-0449.
Creator: Anchorage Garden Club.
Title: Anchorage Garden Club records.
Dates: 1953-2018.
Volume of collection: 12.8 cubic feet and 353 MB.
Language of materials: Collection materials in English.
Collection summary: Records of a civic organization dedicated to gardening.
Organizational history:
The Anchorage Garden Club first began to hold meetings under the auspices of the U. S. Department of Agriculture Extension Service in 1944. The club formally organized and adopted a constitution and by-laws in May 1947. In 1951, the club became affiliated with the Washington State Federation of Garden Clubs and with the National Council of State Garden Clubs. The club’s first annual flower show was held in 1944. Other annual events held by the Anchorage Garden Club include Arbor Day celebrations, wildflower shows, and winter holiday flower shows.
Collection description:
The collection consists of the records and scrapbooks of the Anchorage Garden Club. Included are minutes, financial reports, correspondence, scrapbooks, garden club award applications, flower show records, and subject files. Also included are records of the Business Beautification Leader Committee of 1981, when the club provided assistance to the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce in recognizing business beautification efforts.
Arrangement: Materials are arranged in following series:
Series 1: Reports; 1976-1980, 1989
Series 2: Minutes and financial reports; 1974-2003
Series 3: Correspondence; undated, 1956-1983
Series 4: Membership records; undated, 1955, 1982-1984
Series 5: Business Beautification Leader committee records; 1981
Series 6: Award application records; undated, 1965-1997
Series 7: Flower show records; undated, 1955-2012
Subseries 7a: Administrative files; undated, 1956-2012
Subseries 7b: Show scrapbooks; 1955-1970
Series 8: Subject files; undated, circa 1953-2018
Series 9: Scrapbooks; 1953-2018
Subseries 9a: Annual scrapbooks; 1953-2018
Subseries 9b: Betty Stenehjem scrapbooks; 1966-1996
Digitized copies: Some images from the scrapbooks have been digitized and placed on the Alaska’s Digital Archives website (https://vilda.alaska.edu/digital/collection/cdmg13/search/searchterm/UAA-HMC-0449). For information about obtaining copies please contact Archives and Special Collections.
Rights note: Archives & Special Collections owns copyright to materials in this collection created by the Anchorage Garden Club. Materials not created by the club may be subject to copyright not held by the Archives.
Preferred citation: Anchorage Garden Club records, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Acquisition note: The collection was presented to the archives by the Anchorage Garden Club. A deed of gift was signed in 1993. Additional records were added in 2007 and 2025.
Processing information: This collection was arranged and described by Jeffrey A. Sinnott in 2007. The collection was consolidated to save space and additional material was added by Gwen Higgins in 2025.
Container list:
Series 1: Reports; 1976-1989. 0.05 cubic feet. The reports are arranged by type, thereunder chronologically.
| Box/Folder | Description | Date |
| 1/1 | Annual reports | 1976-1979 |
| 1/2 | President’s reports | 1978, 1980, 1989 |
Series 2: Minutes and financial reports; 1974-2003. 0.3 cubic feet. Arranged chronologically.
| Box/Folder | Description | Date |
| 1/3-5 | Minutes and financial reports | 1974-1976 |
| 1/6 | Minutes | 1977 |
| 1/7-8 | Minutes and financial reports | 1978-1979 |
| 1/9-10 | Financial reports | 1980-1981 |
| 1/11-13 | Minutes and financial reports | 1982-1984 |
| 1/14-18 | Minutes | 1986-1995 |
| 1/19-22 | Minutes, financial reports, attendance reports, programs | 1996-2003 |
Series 3: Correspondence; undated, 1956-1983. 0.1 cubic feet. Arranged chronologically.
| Box/Folder | Description | Date |
| 1/23 | Correspondence | undated |
| 1/24 | Correspondence | 1956, 1965, 1968 |
| 1/25 | Correspondence | 1971-1972 |
| 1/26 | Correspondence | 1973 |
| 1/27 | Correspondence | 1974 |
| 1/28 | Correspondence | 1981-1982 |
| 1/29 | Correspondence | 1983 |
Series 4: Membership records; undated, 1955, 1982-1984. 0.05 cubic feet. Arranged chronologically.
| Box/ Folder |
Description | Date |
| 1/30 | Membership list | 1950s |
| 1/31 | Membership roll call | 1955 |
| 1/32 | Membership roll call | 1982-1983 |
| 1/33 | Members list | 1984 |
| 1/34 | Membership signup lists | undated |
Series 5: Business Beautification Leader Committee records; 1981. 0.1 cubic feet.
Arranged by type of record.
| Box/ Folder |
Description | Date |
| 1/35 | Business Beautification Leader Committee minutes | 1981 April-August |
| 1/36 | Business Beautification Leader applications (including 2 black and white photographs of the Mystrom Building at 808 C. Street and 3 color photographs of 921 W. 6th Avenue | 1981 |
| 1/37 | Business Beautification Leader program records (including 5 color photographs featuring the program speaker) | 1981 |
Series 6: Award application records; undated, 1965-1997. 1.5 cubic feet.
Records include photographs, programs, correspondence, proclamations, awards, clippings, and certificates. See also the Scrapbooks. Arranged by award or document type, thereunder chronologically.
| Box/ Folder |
Description | Date |
| 1/38-40 | Garden Club of the Year award applications | 1967-1985 |
| 1/41-59 | Standard Flower Show award applications | 1965-1993 |
| 2/1-7 | Christmas holiday show award records | 1965-1992 |
| 2/8 | Alaska State Federation of Garden Clubs Special Exhibits Award application: Anchorage Wildflower Show | 1985 |
| 2/9-17 | Atlantic Richfield Civic Beautification Award records | 1967-1984 |
| 2/18-22 | Alaska State Federation of Garden Clubs Roadside Beautification Award records | undated, 1980-1993 |
| 2/23-27 | Publicity press book award records | 1983, 1991-1993 |
| 2/28-31 | Junior Gardener award records including photographs, correspondence and clippings | 1979-1982 |
| 2/32-35 | Sears Beautification Funds award records including photographs, programs, clippings, application forms, and municipal Arbor Day proclamations | 1968-1975 |
| 2/37 | Dedication and Service award nomination for Grace Abbas | 1980 April 30 |
| 2/38 | Garden Therapy award records including photographs and certificate of merit | 1979 April 18 |
| 2/39 | Arbor Day Award records | 1991 |
| 2/40 | Environmental Education award records including clippings and award ribbon | 1972 April 6 |
| 2/41 | Garden Club Growing Project award records including photographs and clippings | 1993 July 17 |
| 2/42 | Achievement in Public Building and Garden Show award records including photographs, program, rules, and clippings | 1982 December 20 |
| 2/43 | Environmental improvement award application including photographs | 1974-1975 |
| 2/44 | Alaska State Federation of Garden Clubs award certificates | undated, 1968-1994 |
| 2/45 | Atlantic Richfield Co. award certificate | 1969 |
| 2/46 | National Council of State Garden Clubs award certificates | 1982, 1993 |
| 2/47 | Municipal proclamations | 1990-1992 |
| 2/48 | State Garden Week proclamation | 1992 |
| Box 13 | State Garden Week proclamation | 1997 |
Series 7: Flower show records; undated, 1955-2012. 1.2 cubic feet.
Series 7: Flower show records. Subseries 7a: Administrative files; undated, 1956-2012. 0.2 cubic feet. Arranged by type of record, thereunder chronologically.
| Box/ Folder |
Description | Date |
| 2/49 | Flower show chairman and committee task descriptions | undated |
| 2/50 | Flower show chairman’s reports | 1968-1992 |
| 2/51 | Flower show classification committee reports | 1967-1968 |
| 2/52 | Flower show financial report | 1990 |
| 2/53-57 | Flower show publicity and publicity reports | 1968-1972 |
| 2/58 | Holiday flower show publicity | 1972 |
| 2/59 | Flower show programs | 1981-1983, 1994 |
| 2/60 | Holiday flower show | 1982-2011 |
| 2/61 | Flower show rules | 1974-2012 |
| 2/62 | Flower show staging reports | 1956-1971, 1991 |
| 2/63 | Annual flower show entries book | 1983-1987 |
Series 7: Flower show records. Subseries 7b: Show scrapbooks; 1955-1970. 1.0 cubic feet. The scrapbooks functioned as award applications. Arranged chronologically.
| Box/ Folder |
Description | Date |
| 2/64 | “Symphony of Flowers” – 12th Annual Flower Show. | 1955 August 13-14 |
| 2/65 | “Through the Looking Glass” – 13th Annual Flower Show. | 1956 August 18-19 |
| 3/1 | “Around the World With Flowers” – 14th Annual Flower Show. | 1957 August 17-18 |
| 3/2 | “Treasures of the Tundra” – 15th Annual Flower Show. | 1958 August 16-17 |
| 3/3 | “On Wings of Song” – 19th Annual Flower Show. | 1962 August 18-19 |
| 3/4 | “Anthem of the North” – 24th Annual Flower Show. | 1967 August 12-13 |
| 3/5 | “This Land We Love” – 25th Annual Flower Show. | 1968 August 3-4 |
| 3/6 | “Holidays U.S.A.” – 12th Annual Holiday Show. | 1970 November 21-22 |
Series 8: Subject files; undated, circa 1953-2018. 0.2 cubic feet. Arranged alphabetically by subject.
| Box/ Folder |
Description | Date |
| 3/7 | Alaska Federation of Garden Clubs newsletters | 1973-1974 |
| 3/8 | Alaska State Federation of Garden Clubs flower show programs | 1989, 2011 |
| Digital storage | Anchorage Garden Tour photographs | 2016 |
| 3/9-12 | Arbor Day/AnchorTree | 1974-1991 |
| 3/13 | Christmas Party programs | 1965, 1967 |
| 3/14 | Club participation questionnaire results | undated |
| 3/15 | Garden Club poem by Della E. Colver | circa 1962 |
| 3/16 | Historic preservation | undated, 1991 |
| 3/17 | Marigold Star (15th & L) clipping and 5 color photos | 1979 |
| 3/18 | National Council of State Garden Clubs “Award Winners” list | 1993 |
| 3/19 | Newsletters | 1975 December-1976 July |
| 3/20 | Pacific Region of National Garden Clubs: conference nametag, conference attendee list, and flyer | 2012-2014 |
| 3/21 | Photographs of club activities | undated, 1971 |
| 3/22 | Pioneer Hall policies and relocation | 1965 |
| 3/23 | Publicity | 1981-1983 |
| 3/24 | “So you think you will have a flower garden in AK?” | circa 1953, 1979 |
| 3/25 | Street trees for Anchorage, City Planning Commission | 1955 May |
| 3/26 | Yearbooks | 1981-2018 |
Series 9: Scrapbooks; 1953-2018. 9.6 cubic feet.
Series 9. Subseries 9a: Annual scrapbooks; 1953-2018. 8.1 cubic feet. Scrapbooks include photographs, event publications, memorabilia, award ribbons, and clippings. Some scrapbooks were submitted as an application for Garden Club of the Year awards. Arranged chronologically.
| Box/Folder | Date |
| 4/1 | 1953 |
| 4/2 | 1956 |
| 4/3 | 1958 |
| 4/4 | 1959 |
| 5/1 | 1960 |
| 5/2 | 1961 |
| 5/3 | 1962 |
| 5/4 | 1963 |
| 6/1 | 1964 |
| 6/2 | 1965 |
| 6/3 | 1966 |
| 6/4 | 1967 |
| 6/5 | 1968 |
| 6/6 | 1969 |
| 6/7 | 1970 |
| 6/8 | 1971 |
| 7/1 | 1972 |
| 7/2 | 1973 |
| 7/3 | 1974 |
| 7/4 | 1975 |
| 7/5 | 1976 |
| 7/6 | 1977 |
| 8/1 | 1978 |
| 8/2 | 1979 |
| 8/3 | 1980 |
| 8/4 | 1981 |
| 8/5 | 1982 |
| 8/6 | 1983 |
| 9/1 | 1984 |
| 9/2 | 1985 |
| 9/3 | 1986 |
| 9/4 | 1987 |
| 9/5 | 1988 |
| 9/6 | 1989 |
| 9/7 | 1990 |
| 9/8 | 1991 |
| 10/1 | 1992 |
| 10/2 | 1993 |
| 10/3 | 1994 |
| 11/1 | 1995 |
| 11/2-3 | 1996 |
| 11/4 | 1997 |
| 11/5 | 1998 |
| 11/6 | 1999 |
| 11/7-8 | 2000 |
| 11/9-10 | 2001 |
| 11/11-12 | 2002 |
| 12/1 | 2007 |
| 12/2 | 2015 |
| 12/3 | 2016 |
| 12/4 | 2017 |
| 12/5 | 2018 |
Series 9. Subseries 9b: Betty Stenehjem scrapbooks; 1966-1996. 1.5 cubic feet. Scrapbooks containing flower show programs, award ribbons, photographs, and clippings compiled by Anchorage Garden Club member Betty Stenehjem and given to the club by her children.
| Box/Folder | Description | Date |
| Box 13 | Scrapbook | 1966-1982 |
| 14/1 | Flower shows/awards | 1985-1987 |
| 14/2 | Flower shows/ribbons | 1988-1996 |